Bridging the Digital Divide: 5G Drives Rural Revitalization in Guangxi, China
- Written by: Telegraph Magazine
This digital leap has established the village as a model of rural revitalization, generating over CNY500,000 in annual collective village income and boosting per capita annual earnings by CNY18,000. 
Chongzuo is characterized by impressive karst landforms with peak clusters and peak forests. This breathtaking terrain presents huge challenges for communications network buildout. To overcome these geographic barriers, China Mobile and Huawei have collaborated on technological innovations in a bid to achieve comprehensive network coverage. Today, all administrative villages in Chongzuo have access to 5G networks, while 99% of its natural villages have 4G coverage and 94% have 5G coverage.
Buhua Village is within the jurisdiction of Chongzuo City. The village upgraded its networks from 4G to 5G as early as 2021, offering residents digital services on par with those seen in major cities. The deployment of advanced communications networks has catalyzed the growth of Buhua's distinctive local industries.
In Xinhe Town, where the village is situated, a digital e-commerce ecosystem has been established, featuring 65 product stores on platforms like JD.com and Douyin, which are collectively owned by the village. Furthermore, a live-streaming incubation base has been established, nurturing 27 local live streamers. These stores secure over CNY300,000 in revenue each year by selling local specialties like Buhua brown sugar. This is a handcrafted product that is recognized as intangible cultural heritage, with a 150% price premium over normal brown sugar. It is sold to tier-1 cities in China, like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and is even exported overseas, including to Japan and South Korea.
Digital technology is also driving the upgrade of the local tourism industry. China Mobile has established an intelligent ticketing system at the Heishui River, which is Buhua Village's most popular scenic spot where activities like rafting, boat tours, and paddleboarding are available for tourists. This system has reduced the average time for tourists to purchase tickets from 20 minutes to just 3 minutes, with online purchases now accounting for 30% of the total. Accommodation can also be booked through the system, which has increased the booking rate of local homestays by 30%.
Digitalization has further expanded to the ecological protection field. A safety monitoring and IT system project for modern irrigation engineering along the Heishui River has been launched, with investment totaling CNY100 million. Supported by the Bianjiang Zhizhou open AI platform, the digital monitoring system is set to cover 13 towns across four counties/districts in Chongzuo. Once up and running, it will enable the integrated, real-time monitoring of water quality and other ecological parameters of the Heishui River, and intelligently issue early warnings to guarantee safe water irrigation across 60,000 hectares of farmland in the river basin.
Digitalization has helped Buhua Village make the jump from poverty to prosperity. In 2025, the village's annual collective economic income (generated from assets, land, or enterprises owned by the village community rather than individuals) exceeded CNY500,000. The average income of every household reached over CNY80,000, three times the average income from traditional sugarcane farming. The annual per capita income of villagers increased by CNY18,000. As a result, an increasing number of young people have chosen to return to the village and develop their careers.
Zhou Peng, General Manager of China Mobile Guangxi's Chongzuo Branch, said, "By bridging the digital divide, we are helping remote villages like Buhua develop digital trade alongside traditional agriculture. This is transforming resources that were not fully used in the past due to geographical limitations into strong momentum for economic growth in the digital age."
Tian Yongsheng, Deputy General Manager of Huawei Guangxi, noted, "Huawei is supporting China Mobile in building a solid digital foundation for Chongzuo with innovative solutions. We look forward to seeing technology overcome geographical limitations and enable more remote villages to achieve leapfrog development in the 5G and AI era."
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